New Delhi: Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz has been reprimanded for breaching level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during their World Cup clash against England. The incident occurred during the 19th over of the Afghanistan innings as the aggressive opener was unable to control his emotions.
After getting runout after reaching his fifty, the batter smashed the boundary rope in anger and also hit the chair before walking back to the dressing room.
"Gurbaz was found to have breached Article 2.2 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to 'abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during an International Match.' In addition to this, one demerit point has been added to Gurbaz's disciplinary record, for whom it was the first offence in a 24-month period," stated a media release from the International Cricket Council (ICC).
The 21-year-old admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by Jeff Crowe of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees, so there was no need for a formal hearing. As a result, one demerit point was added to his disciplinary record as he committed his first offence in 24 months.
On-field umpires Rod Tucker and Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, third umpire Paul Reiffel and fourth umpire Paul Wilson levelled the charge.
Level 1 offences carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand and a maximum punishment of 50 per cent of the match fee. Also, one or two demerit points are added to the disciplinary record. Afghanistan recently scripted a historic World Cup win over defending champions England, courtesy of their spinners. They would like to script some more upsets going ahead into the marquee tournament.
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